Jill Duggar Dillard breaks her silence on social media after ‘Duggar Family Secrets’ documentary

Jill Duggar Dillard has made her first public statements since the release of the Prime Video documentary series about her family, "Shiny, Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets."

The docuseries, in which Jill participated, takes a critical look at the reality-television family, and explores allegations of exploitation of the children as well as the aftermath of the oldest Duggar son's admitted molestation of his sisters.

The former "19 Kids and Counting" star first posted a picture on Instagram on June 3, which also shared the news of her upcoming book, "Counting the Cost."

"Life is a journey," Jill Duggar Dillard wrote in the caption. "Sometimes courage is built in the toughest storms."

The 32-year-old also gave a shoutout to her husband Derek Dillard, who appeared in the Prime Video documentary series with her.

"I'm so incredibly grateful for my man @derickdillard ❤️ His support means the world to me," she wrote in the caption of a picture of the pair kissing on June 5.

Jill Duggar Dillard later posted a selfie and shared her thoughts on navigating "life's journey" and complex relationships.

"You can recognize the beauty in your story while still acknowledging the difficult parts," she said. "It's like roses and thorns, justice and grace. The two can coexist. They don’t have to invalidate each other. The highs aren’t automatically erased or invalidated by the lows."

"You can still love others, be grateful for and recognize the 'happy' parts in your story while calling out the harsh realities in other areas," she continued.

Jill Duggar Dillard appeared in the Prime Video documentary series alongside her husband and shared a number of bombshell revelations about her family life while filming the reality TV show, including her statement that she didn't receive a paycheck for the majority her appearances on TLC's "19 Kids and Counting" and her spinoff series, "Counting On."

"I never received any payout — no check, no cash, no nothing," she said in the series. "For seven and a half years of my adult life, I was never paid."

Jill Duggar Dillard was 16 years old when "19 Kids and Counting" premiered in 2008, and was 23 when the show was canceled in 2015 after her brother Josh Duggar admitted to molesting four of his sisters. He was later convicted of possessing child sex abuse images in a separate case, and sentenced to more than 12 years in prison.

She starred in "Counting On" from 2015 to 2020, and she and her husband described approaching TLC for compensation after the birth of their first child.

"They said they paid the family. 'Paid the family' means we don’t get anything at that point. They said, 'Well, we paid your dad, so take it up with him,"" Derek Dillard said.

Duggar Dillard's parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, did not respond to a request for comment from TODAY.com, but shared a statement about the Prime Video series on their website.

"The recent 'documentary' that talks about our family is sad because in it we see the media and those with ill intentions hurting people we love," Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar said. "Like other families, ours too has experienced the joys and heartbreaks of life, just in a very public format."

The couple continued: "This 'documentary' paints so much and so many in a derogatory and sensationalized way because sadly that’s the direction of entertainment these days."

Jill Duggar Dillard also said she felt pressured to help rehabilitate the family's image after allegations came out in 2015 that her brother Josh Duggar had molested five girls when he was a teenager.

"I felt like I was in a place again of bearing the burden and the weight of (my family)," she said. "Even though you volunteer, it’s like you feel obligated to help."

TLC did not respond to a request for comment from TODAY.com.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com